Jeremy Corbyn aide wins Labour nomination for Liverpool mayor

Jeremy Corbyn's parliamentary aide has won the race to become Labour's candidate for metro mayor of Liverpool.

Steve Rotheram, a close ally of the Labour leader, defeated the current elected mayor Joe Anderson and former frontbencher Luciana Berger to be selected to fight the election next year.

Mr Rotheram, the MP for Liverpool Walton, said he was "deeply honoured and humbled" to be picked and pledged to "stand up for ordinary people".

Steve Rotheram is a close ally of the Labour leader

Last week Mr Corbyn addressed a rally of more than 5,000 people in Liverpool on Monday night, telling them that the Labour leadership contest is a "massive opportunity to reach across to people all across the country."

In January Mr Rotheram was forced to step down from Labour's National Executive Committee after the parliamentary party voted overwhelmingly to bar Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS) from acting as the backbench representative on the body.

"I am extremely grateful to the thousands of party members who have chosen to place their trust in me and I am determined not to let them down," he said.

"I have travelled the length and breadth of our City Region and have spoken with people in every borough, from all walks of life, who share the same ambition as me - to build a City Region that utilises the energy, the talents, the ideas and the hopes of all our people, to transform the present and begin to shape its future, creating a more vibrant, more prosperous area.

"As metro mayor, I will put social justice at the heart of my administration; something which I've been passionate about all of my political career. I'll stand up for ordinary people and be a real champion for Merseyside and Halton on the national and international stage.

"Devolution presents us with a unique opportunity to make decisions locally, in the interests of local people, to ensure each person within our six districts has the best chance in life."